I hope it's Andy Beshear

[yardwork]

Beshear is the smart pick for VP. Here's why.

Andy Beshear is a beloved Democratic governor in a small deep red rural state in Appalachia. No, he will not deliver Kentucky. But he will appeal to rural and suburban white independents who are looking for a reason not to vote for Trump. Beshear would help enormously in PA (especially the coal mining west, which is culturally similar to KY), MI, WI, NC, and GA.

Uncle Andy, as he's affectionately known by the Kentuckians who just reelected him to a second term as their governor, is progressive. He saved thousands of lives in KY with his sensible, plain spoken approach to COVID.

Beshear would bring executive experience, deep political knowledge (his dad was also governor of KY), and the ability to talk to ordinary people in plain language. I can see him talking to folks in eastern and western NC about the problems they're having, which he understands, and his ability to convince them that the Harris campaign can help them.

Beshear is young (41). He's a millennial. He's married with young kids. There isn't a whiff of a scandal. He's liked everywhere he goes. He literally offends nobody. I think he would balance the ticket while bringing even more youthful energy and enthusiasm.

I hope it's Andy Beshear, and they're getting ready to announce it in Philadelphia, the City of Freedom, with Josh Shapiro and all the other surrogates there to support the ticket.

[TBF]

1. Well he did offend Pepsi - I saw the apology he offered re Diet Mountain Dew

but I also don't think that's a big deal.

Not my personal fave, but I think he'd be fine and I like the idea of younger people in the party finally getting the nod.

[yardwork]

5. I heard his comments about Vance and diet Mt Dew.

The only people that offended were Vance and MAGATs. Here in the south there's a lot of friendly rivalry over soft drink brands. Not a problem.

[TBF]

16. Ah, that makes sense. I'm in Texas now (really more SW than South) and grew up

in the north so I didn't catch that part of it!

[yardwork]

17. Yeah, Pepsi was invented in NC and Coke in GA.

Then there's Cheerwine, RC Cola, etc. Beshear mentioned a Kentucky brand I'd never heard of. This is a thing in the south and everyone gets it. Except Vance. As Beshear said, he ain't from around here.

[BComplex]

2. Well, it's been reported that they increased his Secret Service detail the other day, so it's probably him.

And we can all get behind whomever it is. I'm ready!

And I trust that Kamala knows who she will work best with, and I'm with her!

[honest.abe]

3. I like him too. Amazing he can win RED Kentucky

He might be the safest smartest pick.

[democratsruletheday]

21. He's growing on me by the day....

all the others either have warts or age issues, but not him. He would be safe and more importantly sound IMHO

[cannabis_flower]

35. Walz is

Only a year older than Harris but looks a lot older. I like Beshear. He’s my pick too. His face reminds me of a lighter haired Beto O’Rourke.

[Ocelot II]

4. He's great. So are Buttigieg, Kelly, Shapiro and Walz.

She'll choose whoever she thinks she can best govern with - a calculation we aren't privy to - as well as who can best support the campaign (btw, no running mate has unequivocally delivered their state since LBJ in 1960). There is no bad choice, and I'll be joyfully ordering my lawn sign as soon as we have the answer.

[Cosmocat]

10. Yeah, lots of solid choices

This is deepest pool of quality candidates I can remember by far, and you have people like Whitmore and Cooper who pulled out that are really good, too.

[yardwork]

11. Best of all, every single one is a great surrogate.

I can't remember a stronger pool of VP options, nora stronger pool of awesome Democrats who are willing to support the ticket with enthusiasm and energy.

Kamala's team has played this brilliantly. She's managed to ramp up enthusiasm and commitment to her campaign while picking a VP. That's usually a ho hum afterthought, at best. She's running a great campaign right out of the gate.

[Jerry2144]

6. Andy is good

He might swing a few independents who are worried about VPOTUS being too liberal and worried about the Convicted Felon being too weird and too convicted. The governor could bring back the more central undecided to our side. Won’t give us KY unless we have a Blue Tsunami of Hollywood Movie size. But it can give us many undecided around the country.

I like all the options put out. Each has pluses and minuses but are infinitely better than Flipper the Couch Potato

[yardwork]

8. The central undecideds in a few states are the key.

The 2020 election was decided by something like 40,000 votes spread over four states.

In our must-win states, Beshear can deliver undecideds.

[Jerry2144]

12. Well said

My thoughts. But fewer words

[yardwork]

14. Yours was the better response, I think!

[Cosmocat]

7. He's ok

He would appear to be a decent, safe pick.

But he won't move the needle in PA.

[yardwork]

9. I disagree. Rural PA is coal mining country, just like KY.

I suspect Vance was picked partly to deliver PA. Beshear beats Vance, point by point.

[Cosmocat]

22. No ...

I was born, raised in western pa, and lived there and central PA my whole life, gave traveled throughout the state and literally have never seen a coal mine.

Pa is N O T the south, and a gov from Kentucky would mean as much to the people of PA as a gov from New Hamshire would mean to the people of Kentucky.

[Bayard]

31. Coal mining here continues to shrink, and its only in very Eastern KY anyway

As is Appalachia.

Louisville, Lexington, and Bowling Green is who put Andy in office. He didn't win any rural counties.

He's a great guy, and I'd hate to lose him. He has done a huge amount of good deeds for this state. His Lt. Gov is not impressive at all though, and I wouldn't be happy about being stuck with her.

He's not the dynamic speaker that Shapiro is, but he's effective. Two time gov, and former State Atty Gen. I think he would appeal to southern and mid-west states.

I've always said I could see him in the White House some day.

[Nanjeanne]

13. Why can't Shapiro deliver PA even if he's not VP? Wouldn't he be just as good campaigning all over

PA on Harris’s behalf. Wouldn’t he be a surrogate on PA and sway PA? Why would someone support Kamala because Shapiro is the VP? I would hope he could get PA enthusiastic about voting Dem just by being out there talking to PA and governing PA in a way that shows how good Dem leadership is.

[yardwork]

15. Good points. I think all the surrogates play key roles.

I see the same with Kelly in AZ. He doesn't have to be VP to campaign effectively for Kamala.

[Nanjeanne]

18. Absolutely. I'd even go so far as they are needed in their states to really get people excited.

I think there are many more reasons to choose a VP. Bringing in their home state never seemed logical to me.

[calimary]

27. With Kelly being from Arizona, the entire ticket would be too heavily weighted toward the West.

I still think she should pick somebody from the Midwest or east of there. I still like Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, but I'm sure she'll make a smart pick, whoever it winds up being.

[TheKentuckian]

19. Advocating and being on the ballot are not the same thing.

It isn't about his effort on the trail, Pennsylvanians are comfortable giving HIM their votes and that is never going to be 100% transferable. Maybe not 50% either.

The individual makes a difference, we don't have a parliamentary system and even then the individual has weight.

[Cosmocat]

24. Who said he wouldn't if he could?

Of course he would work as hard for her as possible.

But, that is different from people being able to vote for him. More incentive than just him asking people to vote for someone else.

[yardwork]

20. Kick for the hell of it.

[valleyrogue]

23. I hope not. Keep him where he is at. Kentucky is not in play. n/t

[Bucky]

25. He was my first choice. I think he has amazing appeal.

For who knows what reasons, he's not been showing up on the "final vetting" potential candidates.

I've also seen great things from Shapiro and Walz. I'm still warming up to Kelly, tbh. But I've learned to trust Harris no matter what she chooses

[NoMoreRepugs]

26. When u think about it Harris could pick a name out of the phone book and it would be better than CouchBoy.

[ColinC]

28. Has he been campaigning for her?

[MiKenMi33]

29. I've lived in Kentucky for 25 years.

I love Andy and I want to keep him here. Only because I simply don’t think he’s ready for the National stage. He’s doing great things in this state and I’d like to see him finish his term. The first time I heard him speak 8 years ago, I predicted he’d be President one day and I think he will. He inspires people, like Obama did. But I’d much rather see him run for McConnell or Paul’s seat first. There’s no doubt in my mind he’d win.

[kentuck]

30. Andy is not a liberal Democrat.

He is very much a moderate but believes in the basic principles of the Party.

[Wanderlust988]

32. Bullshit, Beshear is a progressive. He's just not a fire breather

I live in KY. I know the guy. Progressives here love him.

[kentuck]

33. Progressives should love him.

It shows that we are a big tent Party. Still, he is not a "progressive" like members of DU. I think he would be a very good choice for the Party. There are some Democrats that believe the Party has gone too far to the left, in my opinion. The people in Kentucky love him for a reason.

[TBF]

34. Even I will take that over Trump - happily! nt

[geo1]

36. If Andy is not chosen for the VP slot he will still be an awesome surrogate

Kamala has likely already chosen her running mate, and whoever she chooses is bound to do well. Being from the Midwest, the candidate that appeals to me personally is Tim Walz. Looking at it from the standpoint of not only who could do the most for Kamala’s chances of winning, but for the Democratic party as a whole, I am hoping that she has chosen Andy Beshear.

I’ve mentioned in replies to other threads that I live in a conservative rural area of Michigan and winter in a {deep red) southern state. I know a lot of folks who can’t stand Trump but due to being fed a constant stream of BS (cable news, social media, etc.), were still planning to vote for him instead of Joe Biden. Now that Kamala has upended the narrative, I think there is a real chance of winning a lot of those folks over. Focus on key swing states, particularly Pennsylvania, is of course very important; however, expanding the electoral map is also key. Electing Democratic candidates down ticket across the country is also key for Kamala to get things done when elected. The goal should also be not only beating Trump but exposing him and his acolytes, particularly JD Vance, for the frauds that they are. It is true that a lot of Trump voters are a lost cause – they will vote for him no matter what either for selfish financial gain or because he validates the racist, misogynistic and/or homophobic beliefs they have always held. However, I know from personal experience that there are a lot of basically good people in both the north and south who have been brainwashed into believing that the Democratic Party is evil. We all know that Trump is not going to go away if he loses unless we can get more people to stop listening to him. From what I’ve read about him and observed in videos of him speaking to crowds (including tough crowds), I’ve come to believe that Andy Beshear is the guy for that job. Even if he is not chosen by Kamala as her running mate, I think Andy will make a heck of a surrogate for her and the Democratic party. Win – win!

As posted recently by TrollBuster9090, here's a video of Andy talking to a mixed political crowd in his home state:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=19240623

On Thursday Andy was generating excitement at a Democratic fundraiser in a deep red state:

https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/elections/kentucky-governor-potential-vp-hopeful-rallies-democrats-in-oklahoma-city/article_9a78608c-5032-11ef-8749-8bec77000aba.html